


Liquid Memories

by obsessions



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Thorne & Rowling
Genre: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Scorbus, post-CC
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-18
Updated: 2017-04-18
Packaged: 2018-10-20 16:35:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,649
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10666569
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/obsessions/pseuds/obsessions
Summary: Scorpius and Albus stumble upon Draco's pensieve.





	Liquid Memories

“What shall we do now?” Scorpius yawned, staring blankly at the remnants of a quite temperamental Exploding Snap game. He and Albus had been wrapped up together for hours, watching the time tick by. Albus returned his yawn, sliding out of Scorpius' numb arms and ascending into a stretch.

“I dunno. Could we take a walk? My legs are practically asleep.”

“Sure. I'll show you around.” Scorpius stood as well. He glanced down at his watch, jaw dropping as he took in the time. How long had they been playing their game? The Manor had a way of shutting down time perception. It seemed to exist in eternal darkness, stagnant and unforgiving as the family who owned it. Albus suddenly broke into a grin, and Scorpius could almost see a golden idea popping into head.

“Let me see your dad's room.”

Scorpius let out a long breath. It was tempting, and his dad wasn't due back until morning, but…

“I'm not sure-”

“C'mon, Scorp, it'll be fun. I'm sure he wouldn't mind... that much.”

And that was all it took. Scorpius had sworn that he wouldn't let Albus get him into any more trouble, especially considering the grounding he'd received after last year's antics. But curiosity always did end up grasping Scorpius in its questioning claws, especially when Albus was involved. He led Albus along the back corridor, the lamps roaring to life, responding to their swift movements. He shot Albus one last look of worry before slowly turning the handle and entering the dragon's den. Albus let out an involuntary gasp, while Scorpius' jaw dropped in wonder.

The room was even more beautiful than the rest of the house. Laced with emerald and silver, it spoke of quiet indifference and luxury. The king sized bed frame was a chocolate brown, the bedding black as the shirt Albus was wearing. Everything in the room seemed to give off its own light, so that, even with the blinds drawn, you could easily make your way around. Scorpius took his first step inside and had to fight off a shudder. This felt... wrong. But when he turned and saw Albus' eyes shining in awe, all thoughts of treachery dissolved in his mind.

He stood at the foot of the bed while Albus paced around the room, tracing his fingers along every detail. Scorpius couldn't help himself. He flopped down onto the bed, humming as he sank down into the soft embrace, face first.  
“Scorpius... what are you doing?”

“I'm exploring. What's it look like?” Muffled as his voice was by the thick comforter, Albus still let out a snort and continued around the room's perimeter.

“Hey! What's this?” Albus exclaimed, and Scorpius looked up to see Albus standing before a small compartment in the back right corner. It almost looked like a shower, except the doorway was much too detailed to belong to such a basic fixture.

“I don't know,” Scorpius murmured, sliding off of the bed. Despite his hesitation, his feet carried him to Albus of their own accord. They stared at the doorway together until Albus reached out and touched the door, which appeared to have no handle. Nothing. Scorpius, unable to hold back, touched the door moments after Albus withdrew his hand. Something inside the door roared to life, and both boys had to back up as the two sides started to break apart and advance towards them. Once the doorway had spread apart, it started to sink into the floor to reveal —

“A pensieve?” Albus observed. “Your dad has a pensieve?”

“I had no idea...” Scorpius breathed, taking it all in. It matched the rest of the room, though it looked as though it had only been there for a day, shiny and new. Both Albus and Scorpius stepped forward to examine the structure. The two walls protruding from the corner were lined with hundreds of vials, each neatly labelled. Scorpius picked one off of the wall, making a mental note of where to put it back once he was finished with it. It read “Meeting Potter II”

“Hey Albus... d'you want to watch this one? It's when our dads met.”

Albus whipped around and nodded enthusiastically. Scorpius carefully uncapped the vial and poured the contents into the pensieve, where it spiraled downwards in a cloud of black, ready and waiting.

“Alright. Here goes,” Scorpius said., Both he and Albus dunked their heads rather unceremoniously into the pensieve. 

The memory solidified around them to reveal a young Draco walking along the train with Crabbe and Goyle. They seemed to be on a mission.

“Keep up, you two. We need to find him,” Draco said, his voice resembling Scorpius' so strongly his breath caught. The trio paused outside a compartment, and Draco peered inside carefully before withdrawing and shaking his blond head.

“Just another kid with glasses. Come on, he must be here somewhere.” A few compartments later, Draco peeked in to find Harry and Ron. Draco narrowed his eyes at Crabbe and gave him a nod.

“Don't say anything, you two. I can handle this.”

“Hullo.” Draco greeted as he slid open the compartment door. Harry's head shot up, as did Ron's. Harry merely looked surprised, while Ron's eyes darkened as he recognized Draco. The memory froze for a moment before continuing. Scorpius blinked rapidly, confused. The colours were more saturated now. “Hi.” Harry returned, relaxing.

“I'm Malfoy. Draco Malfoy,” Draco said… “ And this is Crabbe and Goyle.” 

Harry simply nodded and leaned back in his seat.

“Nice to meet you. I'm Harry-”

“Potter. I know. I've heard all about you.”

Harry raised an eyebrow. “Really?”

“Really. And I want to be friends. Do you accept?” Draco offered his hand, smirking slightly. 

Harry hesitantly reached over and took it. “Sure,” he said, slowly. 

And then Draco smiled. A bright smile, radiant and sincere.

“Great. I'll see you at school. You too, Weasley.” 

Ron merely scoffed and looked sulkily out the window as Draco turned towards Albus and Scorpius, still smiling.

The memory swirled around them, returning to its original state. Scorpius broke free of the pensieve, taking what felt like the first breath since he'd entered it. Albus followed suit, gasping.

“What the bloody hell was that? That's not how my dad described it at all,” Albus said indignantly.

Scorpius shook his head of the memory, bewildered.

“I guess he messed with it somehow. That's what Slughorn did with the Horcrux memory, remember? And then your dad had to get the real one from him.”

Albus looked at him in disbelief. “Scorpius... sometimes I think you know more about my dad than I do. But you're right... this must be what Draco wished had happened instead. It's interesting.”

“Very,” Scorpius agreed, trapping the memory in the vial once more and capping it. “It says 'Meeting Potter II'... so where's the first one?”

They scoured the shelves for the actual memory, but their search was in vain. Scorpius thought the most likely place for it would be near where he found the one he was holding, but it wasn't anywhere to be found. Albus had similar luck on the other side of the vials. They looked at one another and shrugged.

“Maybe he destroyed it,” Albus suggested. 

But Scorpius was no longer listening. He'd found another memory. It simply said, “Potter Stinks”.

“Hey... let's watch this one," Said Scorpius, already bending over the pensieve and pouring the memory inside. Without another word, Scorpius dunked his head in, and Albus followed soon after. 

The memory solidified quickly to reveal a slightly older Draco whispering with his Slytherin friends. They were grouped outside Snape's dungeon, waiting for something. When Harry and Hermione arrived, Draco wasted no time. He pointed to his “Support CEDRIC DIGGORY - the REAL Hogwarts champion!” badge and loudly addressed Harry. Some of the Slytherins were already snickering while others merely looked uncomfortable.

“Like them, Potter?” Draco drawled, pausing for effect. “And this isn't all they do – look!” He pressed his badge into his chest to reveal the real message: “POTTER STINKS.” Scorpius heard Albus snort. Almost as if on a signal, the rest of the Slytherins pressed their badges until they all glowed green. Harry just narrowed his eyes, glaring at Draco while Hermione jumped to the rescue.

“Oh, very funny. Really witty,” She scoffed, her own eyes trained on Pansy. Ron leaned against the wall with Dean and Seamus, offering no support.

“Want one, Granger?” Draco piped up again, “I've got loads. But don't touch my hand, now. I've just washed it, you see, and I don't want a mudblood sliming it up.” Scorpius shuddered. He'd never heard his dad use that word before. It made him feel sick. Harry immediately reached for his wand, as if on autopilot. He was shaking with anger. Draco seemed calmer, but Scorpius saw a flash of fear in his father's eyes.

“Harry!” pleaded Hermione, reaching out as if she could block whatever spell Harry was about to cast with her bare hands.

“Go on then, Potter,” Draco half-whispered. “Moody's not here to look after you now – do it, if you've got the guts -” And then Harry made his move. Draco was ready for him, casting his own hex. Both spells missed and hit Hermione and Goyle instead. Scorpius suppressed a gasp as the memory swirled around them once more. He broke the surface, and he didn't feel the tears tracing their way down his cheeks until Albus' arms were around him, squeezing him tightly.

“Scorpius... it's okay... it's not your fault -”

“I know it's just – I didn't ever want to see that side of him. I knew it was there, but he tries to hide it. He really does. I just don't think I was ready to see that.” Scorpius wiped his eyes and leaned into Albus, grateful for his support. Albus guided him over to the bed and sat him down, joining him. They sat there together for a while, both deep in thought, both hurting.

“Do you want to watch more?” Albus finally asked, his voice soft. Scorpius heaved a long sigh, conflicted.

“I do, but I don't. But I do. Oh, I don't know. We might as well.”

Albus smiled, his eyes shining.

“Okay. I'll try to find one where your dad wasn't the antagonist.” Albus got up and strolled over to the wall of vials once more, scanning the library of memories as though they really were books.

“Oh,.” whispered Albus, stopping in his tracks.

“What is it?”

“This one says 'Sectumsempra.' My dad told me about this, but I could tell it was really hard for him to talk about it. I want to see what happened. It would explain a lot.”

Scorpius joined Albus once more beside the pensieve. Albus gave him a reassuring smile, but Scorpius could see the worry in his eyes. He watched his boyfriend brace himself before pouring in the memory and dunking his head under. 

Scorpius joined him, and, upon seeing the view before him, instantly regretted his decision to watch this particular memory. 

His dad was bent over a sink in the bathroom, tears falling from his chin. He was shaking. Moaning Myrtle floated beside him, trying to comfort him with her ghostly hands.

“Don't – don't... tell me what's wrong... I can help you...” she soothed, her eyes wide and searching.

“No one can help me,” said Draco, sounding as though it was the one thing he could be absolutely sure about. “I can't do it... I can't... it won't work... and unless I do it soon... he says he'll kill me...” And then he broke down into even more sobs. He drew in a shaking breath, a sharp inhalation that seemed to take all of his already waning energy. 

It was then that Scorpius noticed Harry, standing absolutely still behind his dad. Draco seemed to see Harry at the exact same time. Scorpius gasped as the two boys shot hexes at each other, fighting the urge to raise his hands to protect himself as the spells careened off to the side. It was so vivid, so... real. Scorpius felt like he was really there. Myrtle was screaming now, hiding in one of the stalls.

“Cruci-” His dad started, and Scorpius' jaw dropped as Harry hit him with Sectumsempra. His father fell to the floor with a splash, blood already soaking through his white shirt. He was crying once more, and Scorpius saw that Albus’s eyes too were wet. 

Harry fell to his knees in a trance of horror. “No... n – no.” he stuttered, looking as if he were about to be sick. The memory blurred and disappeared in a tidal wave of red. Scorpius was shaking when he exited the pensieve. He found Albus was in a similar state.

They looked at each other in horror before Albus sat down where he stood, seeming unable to bear his own weight in that moment. Scorpius joined him on the floor. He pressed his lips to Albus' cheek in the hopes of comforting his crestfallen companion.

“What're you thinking about?” He asked gently, holding Albus' misty gaze.

“I can't believe my dad did that. I didn't know he had it in him.”

“Now you know how I feel. I'm so glad we aren't like that, Albus.”

“I'm proud of us, of the fact that we came together against all odds. If you think about it... we brought our dads together. I truly believe my dad has forgiven your dad for … that. What do you think?”

Albus considered that for a moment, running his hands through his hair the way he always did when he was lost for words. Scorpius reached over and gave his hand a squeeze, caressing the soft curves of his face with his free hand. That seemed to restore Albus' confidence.

“I think my dad has forgiven yours, too. Otherwise he would've kept us apart even after he knew for sure that you weren't Voldemort's son. He would've disapproved of our relationship. But instead he's given us his blessing. It definitely proves that he's forgiven Draco enough to consider him almost... a part of the family.”

A part of the family... Scorpius knew what Albus was implying, but he didn’t dare question him about it. He knew by now to leave certain topics alone. Albus was easily scared off, especially when it came to relationship matters.

“You know... I don't even think my dad ever hated your dad. I think it was more envy. I mean, who wouldn't envy your dad, Albus? Even I do. And I know what he went through, but still... I wish I were a hero too. I wish I knew that I was on the right path.”

Albus, who had been listening with his head bowed, lifted his eyes and trained them on Scorpius.

“That's the thing, Scorp. He didn't always know that he was in the right. He had the Horcrux inside him all those years... it messed with his head.I had a lot of vomit-inducing talks with him last summer. He told me that I am a hero. And, if he's right, it means that you're a hero too, Scorp. You were with me every step of the way. And we had no idea what the hell we were doing with that time-turner. Yet we still managed to bring down Delphi. So, what I'm trying to say is... we'll find our own path to greatness.”

Scorpius broke into a grin.

“You're such a Potter.”

“What's that supposed to mean?”

“It means that you just inspired me... in a very Slytherin-y way, mind you, but you did. It's up to us to make sure history doesn't repeat itself. To make sure that the Potter – Malfoy allegiance stays strong. You'll always be mine, won't you?”

Albus leaned in a kissed him, his lips soft and smiling.

“Always,” he whispered.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed this! Please leave me some feedback xx


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